James J. Greco

James Joseph Greco (born January 4, 1958) is an American businessman and entrepreneur. Currently, he serves as the President and CEO of Pilgrim Holdings and the President and COO of Newk's Eatery.^[2][3] Prior to joining Newk's, Greco held numerous other executive positions in the food service industry including Chief Executive Officer and President of Sbarro, Chief Executive Officer of the restaurant group Le Duff America, Chief Executive Officer of Bruegger's Enterprises, Inc., Chief Executive Officer of Fieldbrook Farms Corporation, and Chief Operating Officer of Natural Country Farms.^[4]

Early years and personal life

Greco was born in New Haven, Connecticut and grew up in nearby Hamden, Connecticut. He graduated from Hamden High School in 1976, earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Georgetown University in 1980, and a J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law, in 1983. Additionally, Greco has completed International Studies at City University, London, England.^[5]

Greco is a member of the Connecticut Bar Association and the Florida Bar Association. As well as being active on the Board of Advisors for the Lender School of Business at Quinnipiac University, Greco also serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Food Bank, the Board of Directors of the Palm Beach County Food Bank, and the Board of Directors of the Greater New Haven Chamber of Commerce.^[6] Greco is the father of two sons,^[7] and resides in Delray Beach, Florida with his wife.^[1]

Early career

After graduating from law school, Greco served as a partner in Connecticut-based Greco and Greco law firm from 1983 to 1991, specializing in consultation to and representation of real estate and corporate clients.

Greco executed one of his first turnarounds at Ellington, Connecticut-based Natural Country Farms, a manufacturer of private label and food service fruit juices, where he served as Chief Operating Officer for five years.^[8]

Following Natural Country Farms, Greco served for seven years as Chief Executive Officer of Fieldbrook Farms, a $100 million manufacturer of private label ice cream in Dunkirk, New York. A team of investors, led by Greco, took over a failing Fieldbrook Farms and named Greco Chief Executive Officer. As CEO, he successfully designed and executed a strategic plan to turn the company around. Greco's efforts resulted in a doubling of profits and a large increase in productivity.^[9]

Bruegger's

Greco first joined Bruegger's in 2003. Following his arrival, the company achieved over twenty consecutive quarters of positive same store sales and total-sales growth.^[10][11] In 2010, Bruegger's announced $254 million in revenue.^[12] Under Greco, Bruegger's expanded to operating over 300 bakery cafés in 26 states, the District of Columbia, and Canada.^[13] On November 13, 2009, Greco oversaw Bruegger's eleventh and largest acquisition^[14] to occur during his tenure at the company when Bruegger's purchased the restaurant holdings of Timothy's World Coffee. Through a wholly owned subsidiary called Threecaf Brands Canada Inc., Bruegger's assumed control of Timothy's three restaurant brands: Timothy's World Coffee, Michel's Bakery Café, and mmmuffins.^[12]

On October 5, 2009, Greco was named Restaurant Operator of the Year by the Nation's Restaurant News during the publication's Golden Anniversary Celebration. He was awarded the honor in Dallas, Texas at the 50th anniversary Multi-Unit Foodservice Operators (MUFSO) conference.^[15] He was selected by readers of the publication from among six nominees, the others being: Chuck Fallon, president of Burger King North America; Phil Friedman, chairman and chief executive of McAlister's Deli; Jeffrey Harvey, president and chief executive of Burgerville; Randy Kibler, president and chief executive of Bojangles' Famous Chicken 'n Biscuits; and Cameron Mitchell, president and chief executive of Cameron Mitchell Restaurants.^[16][17]

Le Duff America

In March 2011, Groupe Le Duff, a French restaurant group, acquired the Bruegger's chain and its subsidiaries from the private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, earning ownership a return of 36% per year, or 13 times, on its investment and making Groupe Le Duff the second largest bakery café group in the world.^[18] Greco was named the CEO of the company's American restaurant holdings, under the name Le Duff America, headquartered in Burlington, Vermont; Dallas, Texas; and Toronto, Canada.^[19] During Greco's tenure Le Duff America was the parent company of the restaurant chains Bruegger's, La Madeleine, Mimi's Cafe, Brioche Dorée, Timothy's World Coffee, Michel's Bakery Café, mmmuffins, as well as several others. The group, under Greco, ran over 600 restaurants and annually saw about $450 million in revenue. In December 2011, Greco announced he would be leaving the company at the end of the year to pursue other opportunities.^[20][21]

Sbarro

In January 2012, Greco joined Sbarro as Chief Executive Officer, President, and member of the Board of Directors.^[22] Sbarro, then headquartered in Melville, Huntington, New York, was one of the world's leading Italian quick service restaurant chains and the largest "shopping mall-focused" restaurant concept in the world. Under Greco, Sbarro operated 1,100 restaurants in nearly 45 countries.^[23] Greco, who is credited by industry experts with the strong performance, growth, and turnaround of the Bruegger's chain, was recruited to Sbarro to lead the company as it continued to grow, innovate, and improve.^[24] Greco, confident about Sbarro's prospects, designed a short-term strategic plan calling for a focus on “people, place, product and positioning.”^[25] Longer term, Greco implemented plans to shift Sbarro from its quick-service, food court based, status into the fast casual arena.^[26] Greco's vision centered on making Sbarro the preeminent fast-casual Italian brand worldwide, an unclaimed position and one he felt fit Sbarro well.^[27] Greco's strategy included, among other things, improving the quality and variety of Sbarro's products and ingredients as well as the manner in which they are prepared.^[28] His changes also included an increased emphasis on employee hospitality and a shift from its shopping mall focus to a more store front oriented concept.^[29] Accomplishing these strategic initiatives, Greco believed, would position Sbarro to own this new position of fast-casual preeminence. Greco left Sbarro in late 2013 to pursue other business opportunities.^[25][30]

Newk's Eatery

After spending time as an industry consultant, Greco joined Newk's Eatery in September 2014.^[31][32][33] The restaurant chain had recently been bought by Sentinel Capital Partners, a private equity firm that specializes in buying and building companies.^[34] Identifying the chain's opportunity for expansion as a driving factor in the decision to acquire the company, Sentinel brought in Greco as an industry veteran to execute a plan for rapid growth at Newk's.^[35][36][37]

References